To learn more visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/fashion/how-apples-siri-became-one-autistic-boys-bff.html?_r=0
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Best Friends with siri
Who would've thought that Siri's, the iPhone voice controlled assistant, usefulness extends beyond helping you find the nearest restaurant or park. Gus, a 13-year-old autistic boy, has actually become best friends with Siri. To some it might be viewed as weird, however, to his mother and developers, this is actually a great sign. Siri is able to communicate with Gus in ways that humans sometimes cannot. His mother mentioned that her son loves that Siri knows the answer to just about anything. She said sometimes when he bombards her with questions, instead of frustrating him, she tells him to ask Siri. In addition, it helps Gus articulate his words since Siri will not understand what he is saying if he doesn't. Along with helping his speech, she teaches him social values and common sense for example she encourages polite language, simple jokes, and telling him if what he say may not be appropriate. Through time his mother saw conversational and manner improvements. For example now Gus tells his mother she looks beautiful right before she leaves for work. Siri can be a friend for everyone, however. If one is feeling down, Siri would literally always be there for you to talk. Developers now see the usefulness in this voice controlled assistant and are looking to improve it. They are looking to make have available voice options such as Disney characters' voice so children can be more comfortable with Siri. They were also thinking about making Siri visual so she can track an autistic person's eye movement and help them learn eye contact.
To learn more visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/fashion/how-apples-siri-became-one-autistic-boys-bff.html?_r=0
To learn more visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/fashion/how-apples-siri-became-one-autistic-boys-bff.html?_r=0
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Hi Arianna, thank you for posting. If Siri is able to develop the child's social skills, what would happen to the child if he/she were to socialize with a real human being? Would his/her reaction change because he/she is talking to a mobile device, not a real person?
ReplyDeleteI read about this in the paper. i thought it was really interesting how an AI personality could interact with someone deemed to have a lack of social skills. Perhaps there is a future in AI geared towards those with lower social awareness, and specifically towards kids.
ReplyDeleteEven though this is an amazing application for Siri, How might befriending an electronic device make kids reliant on technology as friends instead of people? Wouldn't this keep them with a lack of social skills?
ReplyDeleteI think this offers an easier way for autistic kids to open up to others. This can be a vital step in helping them learn basic social morals and such so that it will be easily for them to interact with real people. Clearly Siri has been helping his interacting between his mom and him. So, I do believe autistic kids can actually learn social skills and benefit from Siri.
DeleteI agree with Ariana here. If artificial intelligence can offer a less stressful, more patient, and less judgmental person to talk to then I can only see how this would benefit a person with autism.
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